Today in Great Lakes History – July 29

1872
1872:  The steam barge MARY ROBERTSON burned near Mackinac. Her crew escaped to a schooner barge they were towing.

1875
1875:  The side-wheel river steamer DOMINION burned to the water’s edge at her dock in the Thames River near Chatham, Ontario. She was built in 1867, at Wallaceburg, Ontario.

1912
1912:  REPUBLIC stranded at Point Louise in the St. Marys River and sustained bottom damage.

1930
1930:  The sandsucker GEORGE J. WHALEN capsized and sank off Dunkirk, New York, in heavy seas, and 15 sailors perished. Only six were rescued and taken aboard the AMASA STONE.

1936
1936:  The MATERIAL SERVICE foundered in a heavy summer gale off the South Chicago lighthouse. She was a canal motor barge not designed for open-lake use.

1942
1942:  ENDERS M. VOORHEES departed Great Lakes Engineering Works, River Rouge, Michigan, on her maiden voyage, bound for Duluth, Minnesota, to load iron ore. She was the second of five “Supers” for the Pittsburgh fleet to enter service.

1942:  The first PRESCODOC was torpedoed and sunk by U-160 off Georgetown, British Guiana, with the loss of 15 lives. The bauxite-laden steamer went down quickly, bow first, while en route to Trinidad, and only five were saved.

1943
1943:  LOCKWELL and KEYBELL collided above Bridge 11 of the Welland Canal. The former was repaired at Port Dalhousie with $13,450 in damages.

1946
1946:  TEAKBAY went aground on Featherbed Shoal off Carleton Island in the St. Lawrence while bound for Montreal with a load of coal. This member of the CSL fleet was released with the aid of tugs the next day and proceeded to Kingston for repairs.

1969
1969:  OTTERCLIFFE HALL cleared Lauzon, Quebec, on her maiden voyage as the last “straight deck” Great Lakes bulk freighter built with a pilothouse forward.

1971
1971:  While at the Manitowoc Ship Building Co. for general repairs and engine overhaul, the CITY OF SAGINAW 31 caught fire, destroying her cabin deck and rendering her useless for further use. The blaze was caused by an acetylene torch and caused over $1 million in damage. She was not repaired. The CITY OF SAGINAW 31 was sold to Marine Salvage Ltd., Port Colborne, Ontario, for scrapping.

1974
1974:  The W.W. HOLLOWAY grounded in Lake St. Clair off the Grosse Pointe Yacht Club while running downbound with stone. Lightering into the J.F. SCHOELKOPF JR. was necessary before she was freed by four tugs on July 31.

1974:  PERE MARQUETTE 21 was towed to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to be reduced to a barge.

1979
1979:  The Cayman Islands-registered QUIDNET came through the Seaway in 1978 but sank in a collision with the SEA TIDE at Mamei Curve in the Panama Canal while en route from Callao, Peru, to Trinidad. The hull was abandoned as a total loss and had to be cut in two before being towed away to a dumping ground. The ship had also been a Great Lakes visitor as b) LUDMILLA C. in 1968.

1993
1993:  The second FEDERAL SCHELDE to visit the Great Lakes was built in 1977 and came inland that year on its maiden voyage with sugar for Montreal and Toronto. The ship received major bow damage after striking the ARARAT in the Orinoco River of Venezuela. It went to Hamburg, Germany, for repairs and resumed service. It became b) TRIAS in 1994 and continued Seaway service until 1999. The ship arrived at Gadani Beach, Pakistan, for scrapping on December 12, 2000.

Data from: Skip Gillham, Jerry Pearson, Max Hanley, Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Mike Nicholls, Father Dowling Collection, Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series from the Marine Historical Society of Detroit. Compiled by Roger LeLievre.